Rain—it messes up your freshly washed car. Puts a damper on picnics or weddings. A game may even be postponed because of it.

But when you live in the Pacific NW rain is just a fact of life. If we waited until it quit raining to go outside, we’d be cooped up inside for months. What do we do? We learn to live with it. We put on our rain gear, then we head out to enjoy all of the fresh air and greenery that the rain provides. The simple rain gear idea goes for your camera too.

If It Is Raining Really Hard — Look for shelter. Locate an awning to stand under while you shoot. Parking garages provide nice shelter. Any overhang will do, you just need something to help keep the rain off of you and your gear.

Sometimes, shooting from inside your car may be your only option. Just park in a good location, then simply roll down a window—point, shoot. You may find the need to switch to a longer focal length lens, which provides a different perspective in your composition.

Some Ideas To Inspire You When Shooting In The RainingPhotographing in the rain starts with an open mind. Rain makes for an interesting subject of itself, and it provides some interesting phenomenons to the world around you. For example, once familiar landscapes are transformed into something new to in which to capture.

For Street Shooters—look for a new range of emotions from the people caught in the rain; disgruntled commuters standing at the bus stop, people working in the rain, umbrellas, and delighted kids jumping in puddles. You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy jumping in puddles! Go ahead, slip on your boots and be a kid, you know you want too!

When it’s raining, nothing goes untouched, or unaltered. Open your eyes to all of the new photographic possibilities in front of you.

The most obvious are the amazing reflections in puddles of water. They can be smooth as glass or provide texture with the ripples. Get low to the ground and those same reflections take on a whole new perspective. The subject in the reflection becomes the whole composition.

As I mentioned before, landscapes are quickly transformed by rain. Colors are more saturated. Plant life is now adorned with interesting droplets of water. Poke around foliage to find interesting droplet patterns.

Animals are fun, pets and in the wild. Puppies playing in the rain, cats trying to protect themselves, or wild animals who seem to not notice the wet weather. Make sure you keep your distance, a big, happy, wet dog shaking off, might be laughable but it may not be good for your camera!

Buildings and unique architecture, with water flowing from roofs, drains and backlit streaked windows—provide a unique shot. Street lights at the Blue Hour are even better in the rain.Then there is the rain itself.

Which Brings Us To — How to Capture RainSurprisingly, rain can be tricky to capture. Here’s a few quick tips…

Lens Choices/Focal lengthThe same effects of compression and magnifying due to different focal lengths still applies. You can use any focal length you want to capture rain, it is all dependent on the backdrop. With the rain becoming your focal point, you will have new challenges to play with in your compositions.

Aperture SettingsSince I am predominately a landscape photographer, I am in Aperture Priority most of the time. Your style of photography may dictate your preference. Try to change things up from how you normally shoot — capture the rainfall itself as part of the environment. You may discover a way to add something extra to your images.

Unless you are going for a great backlit bokeh, you may want to refrain from settings, such as, f2-f4, normally used for shallow depth of field. The magical sweet spot of f8, still makes for a great starting point. This will keep both the rain and its nearby scene in relative focus, while allowing for faster shutter speeds to freeze the action.

Shutter SpeedAgain, the general rules of Shutter speed still apply, but now the motion is the rain. What may surprise you, rain can sometimes be moving faster than you think.

Use shutter speeds which will change the effects of capturing rain movement. Experiment, there is no right setting when it comes to capturing the motion of the rain. Freeze the rain for some unique shots with a faster shutter speed, or use slower settings to create streaks or blurs. Luckily, with digital and instant feedback, you can quickly readjust as needed.

ISOWith camera’s stupendous ISO capacities today, ISO is no longer as much of an issue. Still, to keep noise down, I try to have my ISO as low as possible, and when possible, shoot with a tripod. To have one less thing to concentrate, I leave it set to Auto ISO, with a maximum of 1600. This allows me to concentrate on composition and the effects I can produce with Shutter and Aperture settings. In Auto ISO, the camera will work out what is needed for the existing lighting conditions. If you want full control, make sure to keep track of your ISO also.

FlashExperiment with your flash. A little can go a long ways. With an external flash, start at a lower power to produce a little bit of a nice “pop” to the raindrops. Don’t blow-out the highlights. Move your external flash to a different angle as the camera, this will produce some unique effects.

Which leads us to our next tip…

The Fun Of Backlighting And BokehRaindrops will become more clearly defined, as well as more interesting, when they are backlit with interesting patterns. Try to find a suitable light and something with interesting patterns and color, then shoot into it. Streetlights, lighted signs, lighted windows of buildings, holiday lights, traffic, or the sun peeking through trees or clouds make for interesting images. ​The trick is to find “that perfect shooting angle.” It is best to shoot with the light directly behind, but not so direct of an angle, as you will run into the possibility of causing the raindrops to appear overexposed. Slight angles also produce some unique effects, while opening up your aperture will add in some dreamy bokeh.

Experiment, Experiment!!

Next time it rains, don’t let it get you down. Grab your camera and enjoy the downpour.

Living in the Pacific NW, our weather challenge is—rain. Like the Antarctica snowstorm, rain can be harsh on camera gear. During the month of December we saw so much rain that waterfalls were dispersing water at rapid rates and rivers were overflowing. This makes ideal conditions for extreme weather photography.

Shooting in the mountains with freezing temperatures and howling wind can produce a stark contrast of snow against the trees and rocks. Photograph beaches where waves upon waves of salt water wash ashore. Freezing snow, ice, rain, and splashing salt water, all great for shooting, but can be rough on your camera gear.
​You may be putting yourself and your pricey gear at risk in order to get these extreme weather shots. The mantra of every adventurer is be prepared. Plan ahead, take all precautions, then enjoy and capture the image that says it all.

Here are a few suggestions to help:

1. Place Silica Gel Packets In Your Camera BagSilica Gel Packets— you will find them in certain shipments and in vitamin bottles. Moisture can wreak havoc on camera equipment. These magic little things help reduce moisture by helping to keep it out, especially condensation. A simple thing goes a long way toward protecting your gear.

2. Don’t Open Your Camera OutsideThis may sound like a no brainer, but in the rush of the moment you just might forget. It is amazing how fast dust, water, even snow can get on the sensor or inside those magical electronics, trashing a camera faster than you can say “OH S&*T!”

When you need to change a lens, battery or memory card, jump inside some type of shelter or car. If those options are not available, do it inside your jacket. Turn your back to the wind and bend over to use your body to protect the camera. The same goes for when opening your camera bag to retrieve another lens or memory card. Block the wind or weather, and shield the bag with your body or with your coat opened.

Keep memory cards and spare batteries in your pocket, to save having to open your camera bag. Another option… shoot with the lens you have. Don’t risk it.

* If shooting at a location that is not freezing, you can skip these next two steps.

3. Don’t Bring Your Cold Gear Into A Warm Place UnprotectedAfter enjoying a day of traipsing through snow or cold weather conditions, when you get back inside the warm room or tent, leave your camera protected inside the bag while you settle in. Take off your winter gear and get a hot drink to warm your hands.

This allows the cooler temperature inside the bag to equalize with the warmer indoor air. One of those odd facts in that Physics Class book from years ago mentions something about “cold metal exposed to warm, (often humid) air will result in massive condensation.” The cold metal would be your camera and lens, and if exposed, it can quickly become wet with condensation, inside and out.

You can’t argue with Physics so let your camera rest in the bag while you relax with a hot drink.

4. Save Your Batteries Power By Keeping Them—And Your Hands WarmFreezing conditions just plain suck the life out of batteries — Another one of those weird physics things. Cold batteries reduce the number of shots you can take before you have to change them. NOTE: When it comes time to change them, review Step 2.

Add a little extra warmth, and life, by keeping spare batteries in an inside pocket of your jacket, possibly with one of those hand-warming packets. When you see the battery getting low, quickly swap it out with a warm one. There is a weird phenomenon that as a battery warms up in your pocket it will slowly regain some of the charge lost while in a cold camera. Not a full charge, but enough to have ready for that next battery swap.

Besides keeping your batteries happy, have a few extra hand warmer packs to keep your fingers (and toes with electric insoles) warm so you can continue to shoot in relative comfort.

5. Ziplock Bags Save The (Rainy) DayDon’t have rain gear for your camera? In a pinch, use a ziplock bag. I keep one (or two) of the large storage bags handy in each of my camera bags. Put a slit in the bottom seam, just large enough for the lens to poke through, slide the camera in so the lens just barely sticks out, put a rubber band around the end of the lens, with the “zip-lock” side towards the rear of the camera, then put on the lens hood for added protection.

For the best rubber bands, go to the produce section of your grocer, look for the broccoli, cauliflower or other large veggies with those big fat rubber bands holding them together. Have the veggies for dinner and use the rubber bands on your homemade rain protection. They work great.

Storage bags are cheap, plentiful by the box, and when not in use, the bag easily folds up into a very small package, wrapped with the rubber band to keep it together, ready for use during that next down-pour.

Those ready-made rain covers are nice too, just make sure you always have something with you. If you lose or break the rubber band, you can always use the MacGyver solution via duct tape or string to hold the bag in place. You do have duct tape with you, don’t you? I also carry a small towel (see #6), which allows me to wipe things down and doubles as a quick rain shield.
​ Speaking of weather proofing, when looking at camera bags, go for one that has a pull-over rain coat to protect it.

Purchase inexpensive “ready to use” rain pouches, such as these from OP/Tech....

You know, those nice moisturewickingmicrofiber camping towels you can pick up at outdoors stores like REI. Make sure you have at least one or two handy in each camera bag, and maybe a large one in your vehicle. They are easy to wash and quickly dry, ready for that next outing. Don’t forget to wipe down your tripod too.​

Here’s a 12-pack for $10.88, or amazingly, for only $3 more you can get 24 of them, which will last a lifetime!

7. OK, Now Something Controversial — UV Lens FiltersIf I don’t have a polarizer or neutral density filter on my lens, I always have a high quality UV filter. Why? Protection. Yes, there are some that say you have extra glass impeding your image. Personally, I have never seen any issues. It is possible when using an inexpensive UV filter, but not a quality one. The other reason I use a UV filter — I have had a lens take a dive from a not properly secured quick-release. The front element of my lens remained unharmed, unfortunately (or fortunately) the sacrificial UV filter shattered. There is also the added protection of the expensive coating on the lens surface from blowing sand, ice pellets, snow and rain. It is much cheaper to replace a UV filter than to buy a new lens or replace an element. Another added bonus—the UV light protection also helps reduce some haze and blocks UV light from hitting your sensor.​

If you don’t have a UV filter, HOYA makes a great inexpensive one to get you going. Just make sure you check your filter tread size for each of your lens. The size can be found listed on the ring around the front glass of your lens.

8. Don’t Leave Your VehicleSometimes the weather is too extreme. It doesn’t matter if you are at the beach, in the desert, or in the mountains, when the wind is howling it might be best to wait it out in the safety of your vehicle. Try shooting from inside your car, it could produce some unique shots due to your limited range of motion. Sand, or even worse, its smaller cousin silt, can quickly get itself inside all of the tiny workings of your camera and lens, especially the focusing and zoom rings, making them grind (pun intended) to a halt!
​At the beach salt water is one of the most corrosive elements around (besides Coke, which will quickly eat through a nail. YouTube it). Splash or mist from ocean waves can attack very quickly while your mind is in the zone shooting. Fresh water lakes aren’t as bad, but water is still water. Electronics and water are not good friends. Snow, sleet, and hail are just frozen water and can create havoc on your gear. Sometimes, when the conditions demand it, it is just best to shoot from your vehicle—at least until Mother Nature calms down and takes a break.